Jagiellonia Białystok lost 1-0 to Levski in Sofia, and Lech Poznań fell 3-1 to Benfica in Lisbon on Matchday 4 of the Europa League. It was the third loss for each Polish team, and both sit in the lower part of the table.
On paper, Jagiellonia had the better chance of getting a result. It had earlier taken three points with a 3-1 win over Ararat-Armenia, and its Bulgarian opponent has less pedigree than most Europa League participants.
The match in the Bulgarian capital was evenly balanced, and the visitors had their chances to score, but the only goal went to the home side. In the 83rd minute, 19-year-old substitute Stiwen Stojanczow headed in from a corner kick to beat the Białystok side and secure a valuable win for his team.
– A moment of lost concentration, a set piece cost us a goal and, as a result, even a single point. There is certainly great disappointment and anger, because although we knew the Europa League is a difficult competition, here we were playing an opponent who was within our reach, one we could even have beaten — Jagiellonia coach Adrian Siemieniec said after the match.
Lech faced a top-tier opponent that had also started its Europa League campaign superbly, winning its three previous matches convincingly.
As in its earlier appearances, the Poznań side conceded early, in the sixth minute, to a goal by Portugal’s Rafa Silva, a participant in this year’s World Cup.
In the second half, Patrik Walemark came close to equalizing, but Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatolij Trubin made a superb save.
During that stretch, “Kolejorz” played more openly and was quickly punished. In the 67th minute, Argentine substitute Gianluca Prestianni beat Joel Pereira in the penalty area and made it 2-0 with a low shot between the legs of Mateusz Lis.
At the other end of the pitch, Argentina’s Enzo Barrenechea, returning to action in this match after an injury, made a mistake, and Sweden’s Leo Bengtsson took advantage of the gift and kicked the ball into a practically empty net.
The home side, which gave the impression of not playing with full commitment, drew whistles from its own fans. It responded in the best possible way, with a goal by Ukraine’s Heorhij Sudakow, who sent the ball between the legs of, this time, Mateusz Skrzypczak.
Jakub Kamiński did not play against his former Lech teammates on Thursday, spending the entire match as a substitute for the hosts.
The Polish champion dropped to second-to-last place in the table, while Benfica, with a perfect record, kept first place. Jagiellonia is in 29th place, and Levski, which now has seven points, is 10th.
In the next round of matches, on Nov. 26, Jagiellonia travels to England to face 11th-place Sunderland (a 2-0 loser to Dinamo Zagreb), while Lech will take on Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium (a 2-1 winner in Vigo over Celta). Union has gathered 10 points and is in fourth place.
Besides Benfica, Bournemouth AFC and Ferencváros Budapest also won for the fourth time.
The English side, playing a man up in the second half, turned the tide of its match in Prague against Sparta and won 3-1.
The Hungarian champion produced a surprise. Even though it played the final quarter hour with 10 men, it beat AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro on two goals by Haiti international Lenny Joseph. The Italian side, for its part, is struggling in European competition and has now suffered its third defeat.
An interesting situation arose in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, where Peer Koopmeiners of the home club played against his brother, two years his senior, who plays for Juventus Turin. Teun Koopmeiners had more reason to celebrate, putting the visitors ahead in the 19th minute. “The Old Lady” won 2-1.
Each of the 36 Europa League participants will play eight different opponents in total, four at home and four away, through Jan. 28, when the final matchday is scheduled.
The eight best teams in the overall table advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth through 24th will compete for that right in playoffs. Teams in positions 25 through 36 will be eliminated. (PAP)
